Dear Friend
by SnowPrincessMossy
Summary: Ulrich and Yumi are pen-pals. During exams Yumi's parents plan a surprise for her if she does well. What could it be? Read to find out. Co-written with Kiwi.Embrace.4.Impact DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Peek-a-boo! Kiwi(.embrace.4.impact) here! Snowy and I decided to write a story together, because we thought it'd be fun. (: You guys know you love the both of us, so this is like- heaven for you. You're welcome!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Code Lyoko however much we'd love to. We do however own Riku.**

**--**

The German Brunette was up, yet again, at a dangerously late hour. Getting caught up at this hour would mean detention- Good thing Jim was probably fast asleep with his pink teddy bear he denied to mention in front of students (unfortunately for him, Milly and Tamiya had already made an article about it).

He grabbed his notebook, and began writing.

_Dear Yumi,  
Hi! I know I've been late responding to your letters lately, but it's a very busy week here in France. It's exam week. Winter break starts next Monday- I can't wait! I hate these stupid exams. Do you have exams in Japan? Are they now? I don't do so well in my classes, so I REALLY need to do well on these exams. _

Ulrich looked up past his notebook, at his roommate- Odd. The slob was facing him- sleeping, of course- His silly pooch near his feet (which was against the school's rules, and after a couple days of fighting, Ulrich finally said it was okay to keep the "stupid mutt" as he put it.

_My roommate, Odd- I'm sure I've said something about him before; he's much worse than I am and doesn't see the reason in studying. And somehow, he gets average grades. It makes me mad he doesn't spend the hours I do studying; and sometimes, he even gets better marks than I do._

"Arf?"

"Shut up, Kiwi." Ulrich whispered to the dog waking up. It's not like he hated the thing; it just got really annoying. He's tripped on Kiwi a couple times already.

Odd grumbled, and then flipped to face the wall.

_It's almost 3:30 in the morning. I'd get in so much trouble if anyone found me up this late. Well, I hope this letter makes up for the past few days of nothing. I really should go now._

_-- Ulrich_

He closed his notebook, threw it on the floor, and crawled into his bed. Maybe now he could get some sleep before school started…

XxX

Yumi sighed as she sat down by her wooden desk. After reading Ulrich's latest letter she had found a few spare moments to write back.

_Dear Ulrich,_

_Konnichiwa! Between exams and parents I have hardly any time as well. Winter break will be a welcome change, until cleaning the house begins. My parents promised me a special surprise if I do well. They wouldn't tell me what it was but they said it was a good surprise. I want to know so bad! _

"Yumi!" Hiroki called.

"Chotto matte kudasai!" Yumi called back, irritation clear in her voice.

_Yes, I think I remember you talking about Odd before. Sounds like your roommate is a lot like my brother. He hardly studies but still gets good grades. Siblings are so annoying. Do you have any siblings? I can't remember if I've asked before. _

"Yumi! Kitara reru yuushoku no tame no teeburu o setto sure ba." Takeo called.

"Watashi ha soko ni tadashii iru!" Yumi replied.

_I have to go set the table for dinner now though. I can't wait to know what the surprise is! I promise that I'll tell you what it is once I know. Bye for now. Ja matta ne!_

_-- Yumi_

Yumi folded the letter and stood up, leaving her room and heading for the kitchen, hoping that her parents would let her know what the surprise was a little early.

XxX

"Exams are almost over!" Odd chanted happily- fist high in the air, "Only two more days of this torture!"

Aelita was slightly embarrassed of her outgoing blonde friend; she hid her face from on-coming students that looked at Odd like he was hysterical. Jeremie wasn't paying attention, he was on his laptop (like usual) confirming his answers he already knew he got right on his Chemistry exam.

Ulrich was too occupied with his next letter from Yumi to care about anything Odd's half-full mouth could spill out.

"What's that?" Aelita asked, trying to start a new conversation.

Ulrich glanced up, "Hmm?" His pink haired friend pointed to the paper in his hand, "Oh, you know my penpal?"

"From Japan?" Jeremie interrupted.

The brunet nodded, "From Japan." He confirmed, "Yumi? Yeah, she wrote me back. She has exams too. But, unlike my boring parents, hers promised her a surprise if she did well."

Odd snickered, "The only reason your parents don't promise you any surprises if you do well, is because—Well, let's face it, buddy: Do you ever make good marks?"

Ulrich gave Odd a death glare, "You know exactly why I haven't been doing so well recently."

Jeremie sighed and leaned onto the table, "Ulrich, I know it hurts and all, but your grandfather died months ago. Don't you think you should start- you know- getting over it by now?"

"Yeah, you know how important your grades are to the soccer team." Odd pointed out, "Without you, we lose against Lincoln Jr. High for sure."

The only girl at the table growled, "Don't you boys ever think of something else other than girls and soccer?"

"Yeah, videogames, cars…." Odd started listing things, until Aelita smacked him lightly with her tray.

"What I'm trying to say is…" She started, directing her words to Ulrich, "Pay more attention to your grades. If you really want to get your parents' attention, you should just do amazingly well on one of your exams."

"Easy for you to say." Ulrich spat back, "You know just about everything. It's annoying, you and Jeremie go back to his dorm- do god knows what, and still do well on exams." He watched his friends' cheeks go back pink as her hair.

"It's called studying. Jeremie and I study together." Aelita replied.

Odd snickered, "I'm sure."

"Ja matta ne." Ulrich repeated- not sure if he was saying it right or not. What the heck did that mean?

"Gesundheit?" Odd answered, peering over his friend's shoulder to see what he was trying to say.

Ulrich pointed to the last part of the letter, "That. Ja matta ne. It must be Japanese for something."

"Give it." Jeremie put his palm out, "I'll get a translator on it." The letter was passed to him and he typed it up, "Means "See you later" in Japanese."

"Pssh." Ulrich smacked his forehead, "Duh. It's near the end of a letter."

Jeremie gave it back to Ulrich, who got up and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Aelita called after him.

"He's going to write his Japanese lover." Odd answered, loud enough for Ulrich to hear.

He snorted, "Japanese _pen pal._" He corrected.

XxX

"Only a few more days before this ends." Riku stated happily as he plopped himself down on the seat beside Yumi.

He wore his usual red jacket with white cuffs, white stripes down either side of the zipper and a white stripe along the bottom. It had black stripes from the top of the neck down over his shoulder and down to the back of his hand, as well as a matching stripe down the other side of his arm and down his side to the white rim at the base of the jacket.

"Yes, then we get our results." Yumi said with a grin.

"Bah, results." Riku grimaced, "Why must parents see those?"

"I want my surprise thank you very much!" Yumi retorted, "I figured out it's a trip to somewhere."

"Sounds great." Riku said, rolling his eyes, "Take me with you?"

"I'll stuff you in my suitcase." Yumi replied with a teasing smile.

"Stuff your brother in the suitcase; I'll take his plane seat." Riku growled playfully.

"That's actually a good idea." Yumi murmured, looking thoughtful, "Where could we be going though?"

"I don't know; where would you like to go that your parents know about?" Riku asked.

"I don't know. There's nowhere I can think of that I'm dying to go." Yumi pondered.

"What about that pen pal of yours?" Riku asked, narrowing his eyes playfully.

"Ulrich? He's at a boarding school in France; we couldn't go there could we?" Yumi wondered aloud, beginning to get excited, "Oh, that would be fun! But I doubt that we'd go there, I bet we'd go visit my cousins somewhere or something."

"I can't help you then." Riku said, "But it's time to go back for more torture."

"Great, the sooner this is over the better." Yumi growled, getting up from the table and walking from the cafeteria with Riku following close behind.

--

**We hope you like it! Review please! And check out XANA's Lair at cl.yourbb.nl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Snowy here to apologize for any and all confusion due to the fact that we forgot to translate the Japanese for you in that last chapter, **

**Chotto matte kudasai - Just a minute please**

**Kitara reru yuushoku no tame no teeburu o setto sure ba – Come and set the table for dinner**

**Watashi ha soko ni tadashii iru – I will be right there**

**  
Sorry about that, we will try not to forget again! Hope that it was worth waiting so long for!  
**

**  
**_--_

The very next morning, Yumi was almost ripping up the house- excited that her parents had said they would give her clues about her surprise; and her enthusiasm didn't stop when she reached the school.

"C'monnn!" She was practically dragging poor Riku down to his least-favorite class, "It's Chemistry time!"

Riku smirked, "Are you saying you feel chemistry between us?"

"Don't be like all the other boys, Riku. Or I'll smack you so hard…" Yumi threatened as she pushed him into the classroom, "Besides, we should take a picture to remember this day."

"… Um, Why?"

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_

"The first day _**ever** _that Riku wasn't late to Chemistry class!" The teacher started clapping, as if to reward him. Riku only gave Yumi a look, "You're welcome." She smiled and walked to her desk, pulled out two pieces of paper. Notes- when essential, and a letter for her favorite German friend that happened to live in France.

_--_

"Aww, no letter from your Japanese girlfriend?" Odd sneered, "Poor Ulrich! His lover has found another boy to write to. Oh, he's completely devastate— OW." He was abruptly stopped when Ulrich had smacked him in the head.

"Odd, you really shouldn't mock me _anywhere_, but please save the teasing AFTER we're not with the entire soccer team, okay?" The angry soccer star whispered.

Odd grinned- his usual big toothy grin.

Oh, god. He has an idea.

"ULRICH'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND. ULRICH'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!!" The team stood, scattered across the field, searching with their eyes for the screamer and their star striker.

"ODD!" Ulrich growled menacingly.

The blonde let out a nervous snicker and took a step backwards.

"I'll see you later good buddy!" He called cheerfully, turning and taking off around the corner of the gym.

"One day…" Ulrich grumbled, turning to glare at the occupants of the field.

"Well don't just stand there! Where's the ball?" Ulrich called gruffly to the team.

He took his place centerfield as the ball rolled over to meet him. There was a soft hollow thwack sound as the brunet started the practice scuffle by passing the ball to the person on his right.

--

_Dear Ulrich, _

Yumi stared at the page, her excitement making her fidgety and unable to focus, even on the letter she was attempting to start.

"Yumi!" Riku hissed at her, poking her between her shoulder blades, "If I have to be here on time you have to not multi-task!"

"I'm a girl; it's not my nature to do one task at a time." Yumi stated in a whisper.

Riku laid back- muttering something about girls and their thought of always thinking they're better in some wicked way.

But hey, it's true, right?

Yumi bit on the back of her pen- What to say? The last thing she could remember from her last letter from Ulrich was about this "important" soccer tournament against his school and his rival school. Not being much into sports, she wasn't sure on what to say.

_Wow, soccer captain? Do you have to practice all day?_

What a stupid question, she quickly ran a line through that. Okay, so this paper was defiantly just a draft. It's not like she really cared how long he practiced.

_Do you have any friends on your team?_

Yumi growled- what's up with her and stupid questions today? Again, of course he had friends on the team, otherwise it'd be one miserable team. Might as well be honest, eh?

_Well, to be honest, I'm not one for sports. I used to be in Soccer when I was a little kid, but I got a serious ankle problem thanks to that. I'm practically scared of anything that looks like a soccer ball. However, I hope your team wins!_

Okay, that last part sounds really crummy and lame, but that was all she could come up with. And she was positive Riku was trying to read over her shoulder, anyway.

"Aibo?" He finally squeaked out, with a grin on his face.

Yumi flustered, and turned in her seat, "I DO NOT LIKE HIM; MIND YOUR OWN FRICKIN' BUSINESS." She turned back, facing the teacher, who had an amused look on his face.

"Ishiyama- give me your paper." He instructed.

"Um, sir…"

"Give me your paper."

She stood up, grabbed her paper, and kicked Riku's shin under his desk as she stepped forward and gave her teacher the letter she was writing.

"Luckily for you," He started, "I don't know French."

Yumi stared at the floor.

_Oh Riku, I'm going to kill you for this._

Suddenly, the door flew open, a young black haired boy ran inside, "Gomen! Gomen, Gomen, Gomen." He shouted to the teacher, "My mom- well, she was in a car crash and, well, aheh."

"Mr. Dunbar; I'm sick of your fake excuses of getting out of class. Just sit and I will talk to you after class." Was the teacher's sneered remark, "You'll need these notes for your test on Friday."

"I'll get them from Yumi-chan."

_Me?_

"No good, Dunbar. She's writing love letters in French."

_LOVE LETTERS?!_

"Oh?" William grinned at Yumi, "Yumi-chan, I knew you'd come around. Aishiteru, Yumi!"

Riku snorted, "Oh, Dunbar. She wouldn't go out with you again if you were last guy on earth."

A flirty girl then added, "But I would!"

"ENOUGH." The teacher boomed, "I could _not_ care less for my students' love lives! ISHIYAMA- stop writing this nonsense and start taking notes. DUNBAR- get to your seat and don't say a word; we'll discuss your punishment for your number of tardies."

Yumi returned to her seat and sat, staring at her blank papers, her anger and embarrassment flowing off her in waves.

The teacher resumed his lesson, his voice a bit tighter and his senses more alert for wandering minds. After a few minutes he was lost once again in his lesson, allowing the few quietest whispers.

"What makes you think I wouldn't go out with Dunbar again huh?" Yumi hissed under her breath.

"You've tried that flavor before, and you didn't like it." Riku stated quietly.

"Well, you know what they say Riku," Yumi smirked, "Gotta try things more than once before you decide if you like them or not."

--

"Jeremie?" Ulrich asked, knocking on his friend's door.

"Yes Ulrich? Come in." Jeremie's muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Have you seen Odd?" Ulrich said with a slight growl creeping into his voice.

"No," Jeremie replied, tapping a few keys, making his screen go blank before spinning in his chair to face the brunet, "What did he do this time?"

Jeremie received a growl in response.

"He's probably in the park hiding." Jeremie offered.

Ulrich sighed, "I should go find him before lunch."

"Good luck." Jeremie said.

"Thanks." Ulrich said with a final huff, leaving the room in search of the blonde troublemaker.

Odd fell out of the closet, landing with a thud on the floor. A shirt hung from his now messily spiked hair, a pair of underwear clung to his shoe which was suspended in the air above his head. He looked up at Jeremie with an innocent smile, "Hehe, thanks!"

Jeremie rolled his eyes with a sigh, "You know, eventually- he's gonna find you."

Odd stood up, dusting off his person and disgustedly pulled the underwear out from his sock, "And you know, eventually- you _gotta_ switch to boxers, my friend."

Jeremie's face turned a light pink before answering, "You do realize you'll have to find a place to stay tonight."

_Oh, crud monkeys._ Odd, apparently, forgot that his ticked-off best friend, was also his ticked-off roommate, "Oh… Jeremie. My bestest friend that would never let Ulrich punch my face out— Hey, wait, who are you calling?"

Jeremie smirked, "Hello? Ulrich, its Jeremie. I found Odd."

Odd screamed, completely terrified of what Ulrich would do to him, and ran out of the dorm, "Sheesh, last time I trust that Einstein." He wiped the sweat off his head before running into another boy in the room, "DON'T HURT ME!" He wailed.

"Della-Robbia, what are you doing?" Jim shouted, "… And why would I hurt you?"

Odd stuttered, "Uh, oh, I thought you were—someone else."

"Oh, it's okay." Jim turned slightly, "STERN. I found Della-Robbia." He pointed to the pale, blonde boy, whom was staring into the eyes of his much angered German best friend.

"Thanks, Jim." Ulrich quickly ran toward Odd, in a full 'I'm-gonna-take-you-down' charge.

Odd turned and began to sprint again, "Why me?"

--

**Aibo – Love/Lover**

**Gomen – I'm sorry**

**Aishiteru – I love you**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah. So. Um, here's chapter three? Yay!!  
**

**--**

"You should try out for soccer with a kick like that." Riku stated, wincing as he lifted his pant leg to examine his egg-like bruise.

"Soccer? No way, I'm not playing any sports again. Ever." Yumi said coldly, crossing her arms, boring holes right through the wall with her glare.

"Hey Yumi?" William asked, somewhat nervously as her icy glare turned on him, "Do you have the chemistry notes?"

"Are you dense?" Riku growled, "If you recall she wasn't exactly taking notes."

Yumi shot a; you-want-to-add-to-that-bruise glare at Riku.

"Of course I do." Yumi replied sweetly, "Let's go somewhere quieter though." She stood up and walked towards the cafeteria exit.

William shot Riku a she-is-so-mine smirk and followed Yumi out of the cafeteria.

--

Odd crashed through the double doors at the end of the boy's dorm hall and flew down the stairs two at a time, only to trip on the last stair and land, face first, on the cold floor.

"ODD!" Ulrich yelled as he tried to stop, and ending up tripping over his foot and rolling down the last few stairs to land with a thud and an oomph on top of his purple clad friend.

Odd whimpered breathily, scrabbling at the floor as he tried to tug his slightly bruised body from beneath his angry friend.

"Oh no, you're not getting away now." Ulrich said, grinning maliciously so that it crept into his voice.

Strong and slender arms wrapped tightly around Odd's sore ribs.

"Hugging me Ulrich? I never thought you felt that way about me. I always thought you were really handsome but…" Odd said, smiling as he felt Ulrich's weight shift and his arms loosen. Taking his chance he wriggled from Ulrich's grasp and took off running out into the courtyard.

--

"So, you wanted the notes?" Yumi asked, turning to face William sharply.

"Err, yea, I didn't get any." William stuttered.

Yumi stopped to stare at William, "Not one? Are you serious? Biochemistry was our topic for the past six weeks. What have you been doing this whole time during class?"

"Staring at you." William grinned, watching his favorite Japanese girl's face turn pink as she looked away.

"That's very nice of you… I think." She started messing with her hair as she passed him a couple papers, "Here; you can study and whatnot." She got back up, but William grabbed her ankle.

"You're not going to study with me?" He asked in the cutest voice he could muster, "Please help me. You've got to be the smartest girl in the school! Please!"

Yumi sighed, staring at where his hand gripped her ankle, "You sure I'm not just a distraction like in class?" She smirked.

"Of course not! No, never. Please?" William pleaded, his eyes big.

"Do I have anything better to do?" Yumi sighed, "Fine, I'll study with you."

--

"He's such a little creep!" Ulrich growled, throwing his dorm door open. He plopped himself on his bed, causing a paper on his pillow to flutter its way towards him. Ulrich eyed the paper sideways through slitted eyes. Seeing that it had his name written on it in nice slanted handwriting he picked it up and opened it.

_Dear Ulrich,_

_To be honest, I'm not really into sports. I hurt my ankle real bad playing soccer once and haven't been able to play since. I wish you the best of luck in your big game! My brother likes soccer- and likes to think he's good at it. Honestly? He's not!_

Ulrich chuckled- Yeah… Soccer isn't as easy as it looks.

_Anyway, my teacher saw me writing you a note, and tried to take it up; but luckily he didn't know French. That's the last I write letters in Chemistry Class! Hey, you know? You never told me anything about your parents… I mean, I know you live at a boarding school, but you have to have parents, right?_

There was a reason why he never talked about his parents; but Ulrich didn't want to mix his anger toward Odd and his depression toward his parents together. For that would be a VERY bad side of him.

The door to his room lightly knocked, "Come on in." Ulrich answered, "The door's unlocked."

His petite pink-haired friend walked inside, "Hey Ulrich."

"Aelita? What are you doing down the boy's hallway?" He raised an eyebrow, "Or do I want to know?"

She chuckled, "Odd called me down and wanted to know if you're going to beat him up if he comes to sleep tonight."

He laughed.

"What's so funny?!"

"I-I'm sorry." Ulrich gasped for breath, "You're telling me that Odd called _you_ for his protection?"

Aelita, not completely sure about Ulrich at the moment, locked her knees and put her hands on her hips, "Um, yeah. Why? He's afraid you're going to kill him!"

Theo, a fellow soccer student, brushed past Aelita, "Ulrich! Look at this!" He threw a picture in Ulrich's face.

It was when he was chasing Odd down the stairs; when he had fallen on top of him. Someone was there! And they took a picture!

Well, of course people were there. It was a corridor to the main hallway to get outside. But they seemed too busy in other stuff and their own personal crud to even care.

"Who gave this to you?!" Ulrich yelled, absolutely furious.

"Thomas, in the locker room. You were chasing Odd so fast; you didn't see him pass it to me." Theo answered, and then added, "So, uh, why were you chasing him all around campus today?"

"I'll tell you later." Ulrich got up, "So, Aelita, Theo? Would you two like to help me and find out who took this picture before people start thinking things?"

"Of course Ulrich." Aelita chirped.

Two pairs of eyes turned on Theo, chocolate brown and emerald green.

"Alright," He sighed, "You can count on me."

"Great." Ulrich grinned, "Let's get going."

--

"You seem to know everything just fine." Yumi stated, "You don't need me here to study with you. Just copy my notes, okay? I think Mr. Shabiyama is picking up notes tomorrow, for a quiz grade."

William sighed, "Are you going to leave if I just write these?"

She nodded, "Um, yeah. There's really no reason for me to stay. I think Riku wants to hang out today, so yeah- I'm gonna go meet him some--"

She heard William growl, "Riku's a loser. He's ignorant and rude."

"He's my best friend. Stop talking about him like you know him, because you don't." Yumi was quick to protest against William. She was about to walk out of the room, when William- once again- made her stop.

"Alright. Let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about _us_." He answered with a small grin forming on his face, "And why we should try it again..."

--

**Dun dun dun… Sorry it's a tad short, we had some blah moments. Review please **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four! Yay! Yea, nothing much to say but… Enjoy!**

**--**

Odd poked his head around the corner, wondering if it was safe from his angry brunet friend.

"Hi Odd." Greeted a familiar voice from behind him, causing him to jump.

"Aelita! You shouldn't creep up on people." Odd huffed, turning to face her.

"And you shouldn't taunt Ulrich so much, but you still do it." Aelita quipped.

"Am I safe?" Odd asked.

"For the most part, whoever took the picture isn't though." Aelita replied with an evil grin, "Do you happen to know who it was?"

Odd raised an eyebrow, "Picture? What picture are we talking about?"

"What, you don't know?" Aelita put her hands on her hips, "Are you serious? Theo found a picture of Ulrich on top of you. You two share a dorm, do you know how embarrassing this is going to be for the both of you? You don't have much left of an ego, so I don't think it'll hurt you much." She glanced away, "But poor Ulrich, he's so quiet; everyone's gonna just-- take what they see from the picture."

Odd snickered, "Oh, Oh Ulrich." He put a hand on his forehead in awe, "I'm so sorry. You're so quiet. Oh, Ulrich! I love you!"

"Ahh, Odd. I didn't know you felt that way about me." Ulrich strolled past the corner. Odd was about to sprint the other way, but his closest friend grabbed his collar, "Odd, I'm not gonna kill you. I have something worse to worry about. Apparently, Theo found--"

"A not-so-good picture of the two of us; Yeah, I heard." Odd finished.

"Do you have any idea who could've done that?"

Odd tapped his chin, "Just one."

Ulrich motioned for him to go on.

"To the girl's hallway!"

**XxX**

"WHAT?!" Riku jumped up, absolutely furious, "What do you mean _you let him kiss you_? Do you know that he's gonna think that you're gonna give him another chance?"

Yumi sighed, "He didn't really give me a choice."

"Oh yeah, _Kiss me or I'll shoot._" Riku wriggled his hands for the effect, "Yumi! You don't still like him do you? You can't still like him; he's bad news!"

"Riku! Why are you hating on William so much? He's a good guy; he means well." Yumi was quick to defend her ex-boyfriend.

Her dad answered, "No guy means well, Yumi. I thought I taught you better than that." He sat between his daughter and her friend, "Well, your mom and I were talking, and we decided to tell you your surprise."

"OH REALLY? Tell! Tell, Tell, Tell!" Yumi was jumping up and down like a little girl; that even Riku had to give her a look.

"We've decided that you have wants too-- and that you can visit anywhere you want for a month; BUT your mother will come with you AND you must do your research and find a place and stay and how it'll be and all that."

Yumi screamed in pure joy, "Thank you dad! You're the **best**!" She ran upstairs, forgetting she left dad and friend together.

Riku smiled awkwardly at his best friend's father, "Um, hi Mr. Ishiyama."

"Yeah, you. Have we talked yet?"

"About how I will be nothing more than just a normal friend to your precious little angel? Yes, yes we have."

Mr. Ishiyama smiled and pat Riku's head, "Good boy."

Riku snarled, "Who you should really be talking to is William Dunbar."

Mr. Ishiyama quickly ran back, "Who?"

He smiled, "William. William Dunbar."

**XxX**

"So, we going for the camera or Ms. World?" Theo asked as he trotted carefully down the girl's hall.

"Right now, I'm thinking camera." Odd stated.

"Camera's most likely." Ulrich agreed.

"You are such boys." Aelita scoffed.

"What?" Odd asked, "We're talking in code."

"Code so easy a caveman could guess what you were talking about." Aelita retorted.

"Ugga Ugga." Odd stated.

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Boys." She muttered, "Seriously."

"Is their dorm there or there?" Ulrich asked, indicating the two doors closest.

"That one." Aelita stated, pointing to the door directly to their left.

Ulrich knocked.

"Hello?" Came a voice from the other side of the door.

"Hey, can we talk to you?" Ulrich asked.

There was the sound of feet and the door unlocking before the dark-skinned head of Tamiya popped around the door, smiling nervously.

"Talk about what?" asked Tamiya innocently.

"A picture." Ulrich stated, "You wouldn't know anything about this would you?" He held out the picture.

The door opened wider as a young red-head appeared beside Tamiya to look at the picture.

After a little glance at the picture and another look at each other, the two younger girls stepped away and were about to slam the door shut, but Ulrich, being the strong boy he is, quickly shouldered the door.

"You know?" He said, fighting the two girls to keep the door open.

Tamiya and Milly knew that, even together, they couldn't fight Ulrich off when it came to this.

"Yes." Milly finally cracked, tears in her eyes. She saw how angry Ulrich was at her; and even though the younger girl wouldn't admit anything, she had secretly admired him from afar, "I'm sorry!"

"Aww, don't cry." Aelita soothed, "Just, why'd you take the picture?" She walked into their dorm room, kneeled, and hugged the on-the-verge-of-crying girl.

Tamiya looked up at the three boys, "We were just walking around campus, and we saw Ulrich chasing you, Odd. We didn't find anything about it; but then Sissi- she told us that we should follow you and--"

"Sissi." Theo growled, "We should've known."

Odd put a hand on his forehead, "To the OTHER SIDE of the girl's hallway!"

"Thanks girls," Ulrich said with a smile, retreating to the hallway, "We'll teach Sissi a lesson."

"Don't worry," Aelita said with a wink, "Nobody blames you."

Milly gave a sniffle and a nod as Aelita stood to follow the boys towards Sissi's dorm.

"What did you do that for?" Tamiya asked her red-headed friend.

"Do you want to take the blame if the angry party is Ulrich?" Milly asked.

"True," Tamiya mused, "But Sissi's gonna kill us."

Milly bit her lip, "Either way, we lose."

**XxX**

Yumi had printed about forty of her favorite places, "Paris, Rome, New York, Palm Springs…" She listed the places she picked out to Riku, as he picked up maps.

"Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Might as well put _The whole dang world._" He finally gave up on reading all of them, "I suggest Paris, I've been there once, a couple summers ago." Riku glanced out into space, remembering the enjoyment he had there, "It's a very pretty place. Pretty romantic…"

Yumi sighed, "You got a girl to make out with you, huh?"

"Yep!" He wasn't very shy about it either, "At least she's prettier than the girls here in Japan."

Yumi coughed.

"OTHER THAN YOU, Yumi!" Riku added, holding his hands up to stop her if she were to attack him, "You know, you look _ravishing_ in that outfit today."

"Oh, my _ravishing_ dearest. You better get out of my room before I hurt you."

Riku rolled his eyes, "You wouldn't hurt me, I'm your friend."

Yumi giggled, and pointed to his leg, "May I direct you to the bruise?"

He stayed silent for awhile, "Yeah, okay bye Yumi!" He hopped up and walked up to the door, "Oh, and you really shouldn't hang around William anymore…"

Yumi sighed, "I know you don't like him, Riku, but—"

"You should listen to your friend here, Yumi."

The said girl looked up, about to back-sass who ever was taking Riku's side, before she saw who was in the hallway, "… Oh, hi dad…"

**XxX**

"Sissi," Ulrich said shortly as her door swung open to reveal the black haired self proclaimed princess of the school.

"Hello Ulrich dear, what a surprise," Sissi said with girlish fake surprise.

"But it's not a surprise at all, is it Sissi?" Odd piped up, stepping from behind Ulrich.

"Della Robbia," Sissi scoffed, "I though that Ulrich would have finished you off by now."

"I found a better target." Ulrich stated nonchalantly, "You know about this picture?" He shoved the picture towards her face, while leaning on her doorframe, preventing any slamming doors.

"Why don't you ask the shutterbugs down the hall?" Sissi huffed, "They're the ones with the camera."

"Why don't you own up to your own actions rather than pointing blame on other people?" Aelita challenged.

"We know you told them to take the picture Sissi." Theo stated, crossing his arms.

"So what if I did? They listened to me." Sissi scoffed.

"You're despicable Sissi." Aelita hissed.

Theo gave Aelita a girls-are-so-overdramatic glance as he stepped towards Sissi's door.

Odd, who was closest to the pink-haired girl, gently snaked his fingers through her tight fist, loosening it and grasping her hand; calming the girl so that she was less likely to start an unnecessary fight.

"Touchy touchy." Sissi scoffed, throwing Aelita a 'keep your shirt on' glance as she leaned closer to the door, she turned, smiling with innocent maliciousness at Ulrich.

"Maybe I did tell them to, what can you do about it?"

"We can tell Jim." Ulrich replied smugly.

"That buffoon? What's he gonna do huh? Go running to my father? That'll help your cause." Sissi sneered.

"Elizabeth!" Roared an all too familiar voice, "If I've heard correctly you've been treating the younger kids unfairly?"

"Buffoon huh?" Theo grinned, "Sure looks like it now doesn't he?"

**XxX**

"But Dad," Yumi pleaded, "William's harmless, really."

"That's not what Riku told me." Takeo replied quickly, "I only want you to be safe."

"I know, I know," Yumi sighed, "That's all you ever want." She put her chin on her wrist, staring down at the mountain of papers she had printed earlier, shuffling through them to take her mind away from her father's newest lecture.

Her father stayed silent, looking at his daughter- he didn't like yelling at her; but why can't she understand that boys are just _no good_?

"You know, I can't always tell you what to do." He sighed, thinking about that really killed him, "I'm just trying to direct you in the right path so you'll live the great life you deserve on your own."

Yumi shot her glance back at her father- and cracked a smile, "Dad, I know you think William's a real bad person, and that boys are bad and all. So—should I completely ignore you and Hiroki? I mean, being _boys_ and all."

His face turned stern again, "Don't play with me, Yumi." After another second or two of silence, he asked, "So, did you pick a place to stay?"

Yumi grinned, "Well Dad, I wasn't really sure, so I had Riku help me decide. He recommended Paris. Since it's romantic and sweet and beautiful and… stuff."

"And… stuff." He repeated carefully, "I see."

She glanced around for a while, "May I… go write a letter to my penpal?"

"That boy in France…" Mr. Ishiyama stopped- it clicked. He must've been the reason she wanted to go there, "He's your reasoning for visiting Paris, huh?"

Yumi flushed, "What?! NO!" She cried in embarrassment, "Riku recommended it- and the more I think about it, the more I want to go! You said I could go anywhere."

Takeo sighed, knowing that he must uphold his promise, "I just want you to be careful."

"I will be." Yumi reassured her father, "I promise."

**XxX**

"You know," Odd started- Ulrich, Aelita and Theo facepalmed, anything out of his mouth while walking to lunch is never good, "... if Sissi really wanted that picture to spread through the school, why didn't she like- tape a whole bunch of copies of them around the school?"

"Because, unlike you, she thought it out." Aelita snarled back.

"Well, think about it. That's be quicker right? And... wait. If she did, it'd make _her_ look horrible. IN LOVE WIH A GAY GUY." Odd chanted.

Ulrich sighed, "You know, I'm gonna go back to my dorm real fast, pick up Jeremie, and come back. Alright?"

"Alright, Ulrich." Aelita waved to her friend as she and the two other boys sprinted for the lunch line.

The young German stalked back to his dorm- after that catastrophe, he finally had time to write his penpal back. Now... what was the last thing she'd written him?

"Soccer, right," Ulrich muttered, pulling out the letter as well as a piece of paper.

_Dear Yumi,_

_I'm sorry to hear-_

Scrub that, don't sound like a soft girl; she wouldn't like that, or would she? Arghhhhh.

_My roommate trying to read my letters is bad enough; it's a good thing he's like a cow. Multiple stomachs. You're lucky people there don't know French, everyone here knows French, go figure, it is France after all. _

Ulrich sighed, now came the answer to the dreaded question, his parents.

_My parents? I don't normally talk about them. Or think about them. They set impossibly high goals. Never would I get a reward, it's just expected. Speaking of rewards, any news on yours? _

"Ulrich?" There came a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Ulrich replied, folding the letter and stuffing it into an envelope.

"You coming to lunch any day now?" Jeremie asked, opening the door to peek inside.

"Yea, I'm coming now." Ulrich muttered, throwing the envelope down on his bed to mail later.

"And I thought I was hopeless with remembering to eat." Jeremie muttered.

"There are two times of privacy," Ulrich explained, "When Odd thinks that I'm going to kill him, and when Odd is distracted by food."

**XxX**

Yumi sighed as she clicked at yet another link to a hotel in Paris. She'd been searching for a good hour now, hotels, things to do, places to eat, it was all getting to be a bore, even if she had succeeded in finding and booking a flight.

"Yumi," Came her mother's voice, "Phone for you."

Yumi turned away from the computer, taking the phone from her mother she disappeared into her bedroom with the phone.

"Hello?" Yumi said uncertainly as she leaned against her bedroom door.

"Yumi?" Replied an all too familiar voice.

"Hi William." Yumi said, "Consider yourself lucky that my mom answered the phone."

"You're father never did like me." William mused, "But that's not why I called."

"Why did you call then?" Yumi asked.

"Break starts pretty soon," William stated, "Friday actually. You want to go see a movie or something?"

"Sorry William, I really am, I have a red-eye to catch." Yumi replied.

"Oh?" William asked.

"I'm flying to Paris for break." Yumi explained.

"Isn't that where your penpal lives?" William asked apprehensively.

"Yea, why?" Yumi retorted defensively, "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"You don't even know the guy." William scoffed, "What does your father think of him?"

"I know him better than you do." Yumi huffed, "And you can't use my father against me, since he doesn't approve of you either."

"Shall we see a movie another night then?" William asked.

"No." Yumi said flatly, "Bye William."

She hung up the phone, throwing it onto her bed as she huffed, sliding down the door to sit with a 'thud' on the floor.

**XxX**

"Look who decided to eat today!" Odd snickered when Jeremie and Ulrich had finally sat down with their trays.

"Of course, Ulrich knocked on my door and told me to go." Jeremie rather lazily sipped his drink, "But when I came back, he was writing to his Japanese lover."

"PENPAL." Ulrich roared- ever since Odd had caught him writing a letter to her, everyone agreed that Yumi was his "lover" it was getting old, and really annoying.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Theo waved his hand, and passed Odd his almost empty tray, "So, how did you meet her? And… do you know what she looks like?"

The annoyed boy shook his head no, "No, I don't know what she looks like. But Jim told me about this thing on the internet about Pencak Silat, it's world-wide. She and I just started to get along right away."

Theo stared at his friend, "You _don't_ know what she looks like?"

"No, I don't." Ulrich felt like a broken record, "I don't really care about appearances, at least, not when someone gets along with me so well. I mean, obviously I'm not paranoid to hang out with him." He pointed to Odd.

"Meh?!" Odd pointed to himself, mouth full of food.

Aelita shook her head- she desperately needed new friends, "Besides, I'm sure this Yuki girl has the traditional Japanese look. I mean, at least, in general. I'm positive she's pretty."

Odd whined, "But what if she has no chest?"

Aelita slapped him for saying such a stupid thing. Okay, so maybe they can talk about her like that when she's not around, but _not_ at the lunch table.

"Okay, One- Her name is _Yumi_. Two- I don't care what she looks like. And Three- if you guys care _so much_, I'll ask her in the next letter. Okay?!" Ulrich had his shoulders on the table, hands holding his head up.

"Okay!" Theo smiled, "And if she's hot, would it be okay if I asked her out?"

Ulrich groaned, "Shut up."

**XxX**

Yumi had called Riku not long after the call from William. She told him to meet her up at the ice-cream parlor that close to the middle between their homes. Now there, she wished she had a couple girlfriends. For Riku kept eyeing other girls walking by.

"Hentai." She murmured, watching her best friend practically drool at these girls.

"So," Riku drawled, ignoring Yumi's comment, "You wanted to meet me for a reason?"

"Obviously." Yumi sighed.

"You hurt me." Riku stated, pouting, "You wouldn't want to just meet your best friend for an ice cream?"

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Grow up. I didn't want to meet you for you to act like an overdramatic girl."

"So what did you want me for?" Riku asked.

"William called." Yumi stated flatly.

"That… That… What did _he _want?" Riku bristled.

"He wanted to see a movie Friday." Yumi said.

"There was an easy way to prevent that." Riku said smugly.

"I knew you were going to say that." Yumi sighed, "Can we stay focused on what happened?"

"You shouldn't have let him kiss you." Riku stated with a shrug, "He's bad news."

Yumi scoffed, "Why do I even bother?"

"Just be blunt with him, he's too dense to get hurt." Riku snapped, turning away, "Have fun in Paris."

With that Riku left Yumi, striding quickly.

"Bye Riku." Yumi muttered as he left. She walked home slowly, she had yet to pack and find a hotel for her upcoming trip.

**XxX**

_... and today at lunch, my pals were asking about a picture of you, I know it sounds kinda weird, but if you send me a pic of you- my friends will shut up, and in return I'll send a pic of me... and my roommate, if you want to see __that__ screwball._

Ulrich smiled- Oh the joy of writing about his dreaded roommate.

"Maybe she's like, stunning gorgeous." Odd suggest from his bed- it was almost time for a cat nap, "What do Japanese girls generally look like?"

Ulrich shrugged, "Dunno. I've never seen a Japanese girl before. I'd hate to sound stereotypical, so I won't say she looks a certain way."

"Does she sound hot?"

A groan from the other side of the room, "Seriously Odd, does it really matter how pretty she is? She and I really get along, I'm not just gonna stop talking to her if she isn't the prettiest girl in the world."

Odd giggled, yes giggled, and got a strange look from Ulrich in reply, "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm positive you're whipped."

"Whipped?" Ulrich repeated- Did Odd just say something that confused him?

"Yeah, whipped. It means, you're like... in love." Odd started, "And you never hesitate to respond to your Japanese lov-"

"If you say _lover_ I will smack you." Ulrich interrupted.

Odd paused, "...penpal." His roommate nodded for him to go on, "While you hesitate on the rest of life. Even Jim noticed your weird mood in gym."

Ulrich shrugged the comment off, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course not." Odd muttered, ostensibly letting the topic drop as he stretched out on his bed.

Ulrich eyed the blonde, before turning back to his letter.

_Only if you don't mind that is, I promise I'm not a creep._

"Whipped." Odd singsonged.

"Will you shut up?" Ulrich huffed.

"Maybe." Odd grinned innocently.

"One day I think I just might believe you as well." Ulrich sighed, getting up, he was finished writing anyway.

**XxX**

"Yumi?" Asked Akkio from the door.

Yumi sighed as she set down a folded shirt, "Yes mom?"

"Are you alright?" Akkio asked, sounding concerned.

"Yea mom, I'm fine." Yumi reassured her mother, "I found a hotel."

"That's great." Akkio smiled, "So is everything set up?"

"Yea, just gotta finish packing." Yumi answered.

"Everything alright with Riku?" Her mother persisted.

"He's just being a boy." Yumi huffed, "He'll get over it."

"You can always talk to me if you need anything." Akkio comforted, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night mom." Yumi said with a smile and returned to her packing.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm supposed to tell you guys some pointless a/n but I don't really know what to say. (: -- Kiwi**

**Snowy – Sorry for the wait for this chapter. School slows everything down -.-**

**XxX**

Yumi sighed, checking over her bags one more time, trying to convince her anxious mind that she had everything and had no need to worry about forgetting anything.

_Ding-dong_

The doorbell? Who could it be? Riku knew she would be leaving for the airport soon, and after their last little spat he wouldn't exactly come running to say a last minute goodbye.

"William?" Yumi exclaimed in surprise as she opened the door to find the tall boy standing on her doorstep.

"Hey Yumi." William smiled, "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yea sure," Yumi stuttered, "But I'm leaving soon for the airport."

"I know," William said, "I wanted to see you before you left."

"Ok…" Yumi said slowly, following him into the living room.

"I know it's unannounced, but I really wanted to see you, you've been avoiding me." William said, looking almost sheepish. Almost.

"Yea," Yumi muttered, looking at her shoes. Big and black and looking a little worn.

"I really like you." William said.

"Yea," Yumi said with a smile, meeting his glimmering eyes, "I figured that out."

**XxX**

The still half-asleep gym teacher walked down the boys hallway, a bag lazily slung over his shoulder. He almost ran into his most favorite and the star of his soccer team.

"Good morning, Jim." Ulrich greeted, holding his hand out, "Mail for me?"

Jim groaned, this kid was pretty nice on the soccer, but in the morning, he was annoying. Always up, ready for a letter every other day. He stretched and looked in his bag for a letter for Stern.

"Sorry, Stern. There aren't any for today."

Ulrich, taken by surprised, had stuttered, "Uh—Oh." He backed a little from his gym teacher, "Thanks anyway, Jim!" He stalked back to his dorm, where Odd was getting dressed, "Oh god—Are those _my_ boxers?"

Odd pulled up his purple pants, turned, and grinned, "It says 'Stern' on the tag."

Ulrich gargled a sound of disgust.

"Wait, no love letter from the lady in Japan?" Odd mocked, "And I thought you did your math and everything!"

"I'm curious about where she's going. She said she'd be coming to France, but it's such a big country, she could be staying anywhere." Ulrich replied slowly, "And knowing you, you'd be delighted to see her, I've noticed you've copied my photo of her." Ulrich slid his hand under Odd's mattress, and took out a couple photos, "Four times."

Odd shrugged, "So what? She's pretty! Theo wanted one. So I'm giving him one—maybe Jeremie."

Ulrich shook his head, "Odd- you're just so…"

"So amazingly lovable?" Odd finished his friend's sentence with an innocent grin.

"So obnoxious." Ulrich huffed.

**XxX**

A door closed noisily and footsteps clomped tiredly into the main room.

"Yumi?" Takeo asked, uncertain at first, until he saw the dark-haired head of a boy who was not his son, "Who is he?" Roared Mr. Ishiyama.

"Daddy!" Yumi squeaked, "It's alright, it's only William."

_William, _Takeo thought, his mind seethed as he remembered the boy.

"You should be at the airport by now." Takeo stated sternly, "And William shouldn't be here."

Realization flashed in Yumi's eyes, mixed with panic.

"Oh no!" She yelped, leaping over the back of the couch and racing to get her suitcase and duffel.

"You have a wonderful daughter Mr. Ishiyama." William said cheerfully as he headed for the door.

Takeo followed William, still simmering. He held the door open for the boy.

"You stay away from her Mr. Dunbar," Takeo hissed, "If I catch you with her again, there will be consequences."

With that, he slammed the door shut in William's face, just as Yumi galloped into the main room, luggage in tow.

"Go get in the car, I'll take you to the airport." Takeo said, taking his daughter's bags from her.

"Thanks Daddy." Yumi smiled.

As father and daughter ran out to the car, William quickly sprinted after them.

"Please," He stated, with a gleam in his eye, "Let me go with you. I'll help you unpack the car and all."

"No, son. I think it's okay." Mr. Ishiyama retorted- clearly fed up with this boy.

William sneered quietly, and then added, "Please, sir. It's the least I can do after making Yumi late for her plane."

"Dad, we're really just wasting time fighting with him." Yumi pointed out.

Her father sighed, "Get in the car."

**XxX**

"Dude, seriously." Ulrich had left for a walk around the park, Odd told his friend he was sulking because Ulrich thinks Yumi's found something better to do.

….Or found a better boy to write to.

"Aww, well, Ulrich did seem pretty attached to her and her letters. It gave him something to do more than his homework." Aelita answered, Jeremie nodded, Odd made a hand-gesture like "Whatever", and Theo was just kinda there.

"I swear, in his sleep," Odd continued, "he rolls around all _'Yumi, I love you. I do, I do. I love you. Stay in France with me. I love you, Yumi! I really do !'_" He mimicked what he thought of Ulrich, as he swayed back and forth.

Theo finally said something, "How can you love someone you've never met?"

Odd shrugged, "This Yumi girl? She's been talking to him about everything, and vise versa. I think she knows more about Mr. Stern then we do."

Aelita giggled, "Preposterous." When Odd gave her a look, she stated, "It means Nonsense." He smiled and waited for her to continue, "I'm sure pen pals get close after talking for such a long time. Besides, I'm sure Ulrich is interested in her culture as much as Yumi is in his."

"What does the Japanese care about the French?" Theo stated, "I mean, seriously. People want to go to France because it seems so romantic and that crud. I would rather go to Japan."

"Well, Theo. Tell me," Jeremie started, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his laptop, "When you live in Japan, where else do you go?"

"I see your point."

Aelita grinned, "I've always wanted to go to America."

"A-America? Why?"

She shrugged, "It looks nice."

"Like, where in America?" Odd asked.

"I'm not sure. What's that one state that's an island? All by itself."

"Hi-weak-kee?" Theo suggested.

"No, I'm not quite sure that's it." Aelita answered, "Starts with an _H_ though, I remember that."

Odd hopped up, "I know what you're talking about! Hi-why-kee?"

The door opened, and Ulrich jumped, "Hey everyone. I didn't know we were having a group meeting in my dorm."

"ULRICH!" Odd screamed, "What's that state in America that's an island all by it self? Like, completely disconnected from the USA?"

The brunet looked at Jeremie, "Can't you answer this?"

Jeremie fixed his glasses, smiled, and said, "I'll let you have your moment."

"Hawaii." Ulrich answered, "It's Hawaii. I went there last summer with my parents. It's very pretty. Why?"

"Hawaii!" Aelita sounded out, "That's it!"

Odd crossed his arms and sat back on the bed, "Ulrich cheated."

**XxX**

The tension in the air inside the car crackled as they pulled up to the airport entrance.

"Thanks for driving me here Daddy." Yumi said, hopping out of the car and going to get her luggage.

William hopped out of the car, "Let me help you."

"You've helped enough." Takeo growled, joining the teens by the open trunk.

"I can manage from here." Yumi reassured the males, "I'll see you guys when I get back."

"Bye Yumi." William said, "Send a postcard or something."

"Bye Yumi," Takeo said, giving her a hug, "Be good, don't cause trouble, and use your head."

"I will," Yumi said, "I'll be careful, but I'd better go before I miss my plane."

"Your mother will be looking for you," Takeo said.

"Bye!" Yumi called, grabbing her bags and going towards the door.

"I'll uh, call my dad to come pick me up then." William stuttered as Yumi disappeared into the airport.

"Oh no you won't." Takeo said sternly, "You're coming with me, get in."

"Yes sir." William nodded, looking slightly nervous as he slipped into the back seat of the car.

Takeo gave the younger boy a smile, "No, no. Passenger's side, buddy. We're going to have a nice long talk."

William let out a small groan.

**XxX**

**And that's were it ends for this chapter folks! **


End file.
